Tiger Talisman?

“After obtaining the highest authority in this instance, the highest authority includes but is not limited to: completing missions for either faction, or disrupting missions for either faction, or killing all participants of a certain faction, or killing all participants of both factions. At least one of the above conditions must be met to consider the mission completed.”

Chen Xiaolian repeatedly scrutinized the prompt from the Zero City system upon entering this instance, sinking into contemplation.

Killing all participants of a certain faction was the first condition that Chen Xiaolian ruled out.

Leaving aside other factors, the factions in the instance were simply players’ factions and Awakened factions.

Regardless of either side, Chen Xiaolian wouldn’t choose to take lives.

Within the Awakened faction, there were likely comrades, such as the future teammates, Lun Tai and Bei Tai. How could Chen Xiaolian bring himself to harm them?

As for the players’ faction… well, Chen Xiaolian wouldn’t mind taking action against members of the Wind Slasher Guild.

But the problem was, Miao Yan was also part of the players’ faction!

Kill Miao Yan? What a joke!

Putting aside whether he could bring himself to do it, it was even harder to say whether he could defeat her.

So, there was only one path left.

Completing missions for both factions, or disrupting missions for both factions!

Upon careful consideration of these two options, Chen Xiaolian had some thoughts of his own.

Firstly, completing missions for both factions posed a challenge.

Chen Xiaolian was well aware of the instance missions for the Awakened faction, which involved killing the Guardian and preventing the resurrection of Qin Shihuang—events he had experienced firsthand.

But the problem was, who was the Guardian?

It was Bai Qi!

Was it easy to kill Bai Qi?

With today’s weather, heh…

To put it this way, since being drawn into this gaming system, Chen Xiaolian had experienced the following instances: the Island Dungeon, Qin Emperor’s Tomb, Tokyo instance, London instance, Punishment instance, and Jerusalem instance.

Counting the number of instances, he could already be considered a “veteran.”

And among all the instances Chen Xiaolian had experienced, the boss encountered in the instances, the most powerful, ruthless, and difficult to defeat, without a doubt, was the Qin Emperor’s Tomb!

Still, it remained the Qin Emperor’s Tomb!

Although in the Tokyo instance, the team collectively faced the challenge of Tian Lie, resulting in a brutal slaughter.

Though in the London instance, Jack the Ripper was eerie, and the subsequent wars of the Norman dynasty were devastating.

Though in the Punishment instance, encountering the incarnation of a giant dragon, even with the collective strength of Phoenix and others, they were still at a disadvantage.

Though in the Jerusalem instance, they encountered the enigmatic Shen and the lunatics of the Jerusalem Templars, leading to Qiao Qiao’s unfortunate death…

But, no matter how you look at it, among all the instances Chen Xiaolian had experienced, the boss with the highest difficulty and the most powerful strength was still Bai Qi!

To kill the God of War, Bai Qi!

Recall the experience in the Qin Emperor’s Tomb instance.

The leader of the Wind Slasher Guild, Da Vinci, could summon the God of Death, merge with it, and transform into the God of Death. Coupled with their special formations, their strength could skyrocket in a short period.

According to Miao Yan’s judgment at the time, Da Vinci, in his incarnation as the God of Death, undoubtedly reached a level of strength above A! It was even possible that he had already reached A+ level.

However, Da Vinci was directly crushed by the Guardian, Bai Qi!

With no chance to retaliate, the Wind Slasher Guild was directly wiped out by Bai Qi! They were all killed miserably, without any ability to defend themselves!

Then came the great battle between Miao Yan and Bai Qi!

There’s no need to elaborate on Miao Yan’s strength. As an advanced player with an exclusive account, her strength was undoubtedly top-tier.

In that battle, Miao Yan used all her hidden skills, even unleashing her ultimate sword techniques.

And the result?

Despite her desperate efforts, Miao Yan could only barely hold on for a short while, leaving herself severely injured and resembling a bloody gourd. She was still tragically beaten by Bai Qi!

According to Miao Yan’s later account, Bai Qi, as the Guardian, displayed a level of strength that was “at least” [S] class!

What does [S] class mean?

In a horizontal comparison, the Skyblade of the Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild and the powerhouse of Zero City are both [S] class elites.

On the arena of Blood Verdict, when Chen Xiaolian was infused with the power of Skyblade, he experienced the might of [S] class combat power, directly overwhelming his [A] class opponent!

One can imagine how terrifying [S] class strength is.

So, what level is Chen Xiaolian himself now?

According to his own assessment, after grasping some of the power imparted by Skyblade, Chen Xiaolian concluded that he could probably simulate the golden sword light of Skyblade during a momentary burst, which was roughly a kind of sub-[S] class power.

However, this kind of power usage is not long-lasting, only occurring in an instant.

So, Chen Xiaolian’s overall evaluation of himself is that he probably reached [A] class strength.

But… facing [S] class with [A] class…

Chen Xiaolian can imagine the tragic outcome of those opponents on the arena of Blood Verdict when facing him infused with Skyblade.

So, killing Bai Qi head-on in the Palace of the Abandoned…

Chen Xiaolian doesn’t believe he has that kind of badass ability.

Well, even though Chen Xiaolian now has a Bai Qi soul in his pet inventory.

However, the Bai Qi he possesses and the Guardian Bai Qi in the Qin Emperor’s Tomb instance are probably not the same thing.

When Chen Xiaolian obtained the Bai Qi soul initially, the system made it clear that this Bai Qi soul was only [A] class.

Obviously, the Bai Qi Chen Xiaolian obtained had its strength weakened.

If the Guardian Bai Qi represents his peak, then the Bai Qi Chen Xiaolian possesses is just a weakened version.

Thinking of relying on the Bai Qi in his hands to deal with the Guardian Bai Qi…

Even though the Bai Qi Chen Xiaolian possesses has absorbed a lot of dark and spiritual power in various subsequent instances, it has still not reached the level of strength during the Guardian period.

It can be said that now, if Chen Xiaolian encounters an [A] class opponent, he is confident that with his various means, hidden tricks, the Bai Qi soul, and the burning properties of the Dawn Goddess, he can definitely defeat the opponent!

If he encounters an A+ class opponent, Chen Xiaolian believes he also has a 30 to 50 percent chance of winning. Even if he can’t win, he can still hold his ground.

But if he encounters an [S] class opponent…

Chen Xiaolian believes that the smartest choice is to turn and run at the first opportunity! Whether he can escape or not depends on luck.

Initially, even Miao Yan was beaten so tragically by the Guardian Bai Qi; Chen Xiaolian doesn’t think his strength has reached Miao Yan’s level now.

However… defeating the Guardian Bai Qi is not entirely impossible!

It’s just a matter of replicating the method used before.

Back then, it was Miao Yan who desperately fought to hold Bai Qi back, while Chen Xiaolian broke the Five Elements Formation in the Palace of the Abandoned, ultimately killing the Guardian Bai Qi.

To break the Five Elements Formation, he had to cut down the big tree in the main hall of the Palace of the Abandoned.

It’s quite challenging…

Chen Xiaolian frowned.

This tactic requires a highly skilled expert to hold back the Guardian Bai Qi while another person breaks the formation and cuts down the tree.

But right now, he’s alone… Does he have to wait here? Wait until Miao Yan arrives at the Palace of the Abandoned according to historical events?

Chen Xiaolian pondered for a moment, then suddenly his eyes lit up!

He almost forgot about someone!!

…

How did the Guardian Bai Qi appear in the first place?

Qiu Yun!

Qiu Yun, this guy was cunning and deceitful, pretending to cooperate with everyone to complete the mission, but actually harboring his own agenda.

He had a tiger talisman, one of the key items in the Qin Emperor’s Tomb instance.

During the post-event analysis, Chen Xiaolian had learned from Xia Xiao Lei about Qiu Yun’s actions and roughly analyzed Qiu Yun’s intentions: After obtaining the tiger talisman from somewhere, he gained some secrets about the Qin Emperor’s Tomb instance and wanted to control Bai Qi using the talisman in this instance! To make him his own!

This is Qiu Yun’s true purpose.

Obtaining an incredibly powerful war pet like Bai Qi would yield far greater rewards than completing an instance! Even if the mission fails and he has to participate in a punishment instance, it would still be absolutely worth it!

It was Qiu Yun who summoned Bai Qi using the tiger talisman. However, in the process of trying to control Bai Qi, he was unexpectedly thwarted by Xia Xiao Lei, leading to Qiu Yun’s failure. Bai Qi absorbed Qiu Yun’s spiritual energy and materialized.

So…

“What would have happened if Qiu Yun hadn’t summoned Bai Qi with the tiger talisman? Would the Guardian Bai Qi not have been activated?”

Chen Xiaolian suddenly thought of this question!

Or rather, if Qiu Yun’s intention to control Bai Qi with the tiger talisman had succeeded? If Xia Xiao Lei hadn’t accidentally intervened at the time, would the Guardian Bai Qi have been reclaimed?

Thinking of this, Chen Xiaolian suddenly burst into laughter.

The tiger talisman?