There's also this addition of contribution points, which should be a special currency more precious than white stones.
Regarding Tianmu City, although Gu Ning currently doesn't know exactly what it is, he's certain it's a crucial place—after all, it's named after Tianmu, the will of the continent. He looks forward to it, but unfortunately, he can only go at the end of the month. He wonders if he'll have established a territory by then.
Gu Ning opens the [Leaderboard], which now has two options: [Survival Points Rank] and [Novice Contribution Rank]. The [Novice Contribution Rank] is still blank, but the [Survival Points Rank] shows he gained many points yesterday:
1. Gu Ning (310)
2. Danton (110)
3. Lil科尔 (110)
4. Ye Baifeng (100)
5. Kazawa Xina (90)
...
The top rankings remain unchanged, but everyone's points increased slightly. Gu Ning gained 140 points alone,拉大 the gap with second place. The chat channel is now flooded:
"Brothers, I'm going to dominate this time!"
"Hurry up! I can't wait!"
"Aren't you worried? We might meet humans this time."
"Guys, don't kill each other if we meet our own kind. It's better to team up against Demon Realm lords."
"Agreed!"
"I think this might be the last welfare. Tianmu might stop helping us later—grab white stones now!"
"Probably a novice buff. It might disappear later."
"Wait, I just noticed Lord Gu Ning's points spiked to 310!"
"Damn, someone claimed they'd surpass him yesterday, but the gap's even bigger now. Despair yet?"
"Was that Kazawa Xina who bragged? Check the gap again."
"I feel like our points will soon be just a fraction of his."
"Despair..."
"Hmm, everyone has good judgment," Gu Ning mutters, then posts: "Keep going, everyone! You can do it too! Hope your points soar this time!"
It's harmless to be encouraging and boost goodwill.
"Whoa, caught Lord Gu Ning!"
"So kind of him to care about us."
"Upstairs is a bootlicker."
...
Ignoring the chat, Gu Ning clears friend requests and heads out fishing with Windsor in raincoats. He quickly hooks a Refrigerator Blueprint (Green): Creates cold air for hot days. Useless for now—he'll use his talent later for a blue item.
Next, he reels in a Lingerie Crafting Blueprint (Green): Improves quality of life and "adds情趣". "What the hell..." Gu Ning sighs, planning to use "Morph" on it tonight.
Then comes a Blue Water Cup: Enhances water taste. Though trivial, Gu Ning is excited—with his talent, he might upgrade it to epic quality tonight. Epic items are rare but powerful.
[All Announcement: Demon Realm opened. Duration: 5 hours.]
A green portal appears ahead of the ship, and Gu Ning's wooden boat gains green-and-white stripes—likely for identifying friend or foe. He orders Xiaolan to pull the ship through the portal. A dizzying moment later, they arrive in another stormy sea. The Demon Realm lords are presumably enduring the same downpour, struggling to bail water and row—a miserable thought.
Suddenly, a black tentacle whips toward Gu Ning. He rolls aside, narrowly avoiding it; the tentacle leaves a shallow dent in the wood. Windsor reacts instantly, firing a light arrow and casting a Light Shield on Gu Ning.
Gasping, Gu Ning sees a Black Tentacle Demon Octopus (Purple):
- Level: 5
- Strength: 37
- Agility: 38
- Defense: 36
- Skills: Entangle, Whip, Mist
Thankfully, it's not too high-level. Windsor can handle it. This is Gu Ning's first sea attack—he never encountered enemies in the Spirit Realm, but here, as a Spirit Realm lord, he's targeted.
The octopus shifts to attacking Gu Ning's shield, but Windsor reapplies it each time. When tentacles start cracking the shield, Gu Ning fires water arrows at its eyes to distract it. Soon, the octopus is wounded, sprays black mist, and flees.
Frowning, Gu Ning notes a flaw: no crowd control skills to stop escaping enemies. Skills are hard to obtain, especially control-type ones. He sighs and orders Xiaolan to resume sailing.