Chapter 342: The Foundational Battle Over 600 Years Ago

The bell in the Dungeon Hall rang out, marking a new record. Someone had timed Lin Moyu’s entry and was now exclaiming, “My god, 15 minutes! It’s a new record, a real new record!”

"Hah, another unbeatable record! This one might stand for a century—or even forever."

"Godly General Lin keeps setting records that feel impossible to surpass. How are we supposed to keep up?"

"Look at it differently: Godly General Lin has set a series of goals for future generations to strive for."

"Exactly! Haven't we always surpassed our predecessors and grown stronger?"

Just by viewing the question from another angle, they arrived at a completely different answer.

When the record flashed above the dungeon, it read: 15 minutes, 33 seconds.

For a hell rank dungeon, the speed was staggering. Many thought it would take that long merely to sprint through the dungeon.

Lin Moyu emerged from the dungeon only to dive back in, raiding it over and over, collecting four Wind Crystal Fragments with each run. His goal was clear: five raids to gather 20 Wind Crystal Fragments, enough to create four Wind Crystals. He planned to fuse two with his Elemental Divine Stones and keep the others as spares.

Within an hour, he had completed four runs, each around the 15-minute mark. For the final run, however, Lin paused, gazing at his record above the dungeon, contemplating ways to go even faster.

He hadn’t noticed the crowd gathering around him, all watching with awe. Their eyes held a look of unwavering reverence for Lin Moyu.

As he pondered, an idea sparked in his mind—one he was eager to put to the test, "Forget about EXP—let's focus purely on speed. It’s worth a try."

There was little challenge in clearing this dungeon, and the EXP was minimal. Lin Moyu’s only objective was to gather Wind Crystal Fragments, so he began to wonder: what if he could skip directly to the boss? The idea of pushing his speed to the absolute limit took hold.

After resetting the cooldown, he re-entered the dungeon and then summoned his undead army, and the countdown began. Lin Moyu leapt onto the back of a Skeletal Berserk Warrior, already primed with status buffs that maximized its speed. Without hesitation, the Skeletal Berserk Warrior charged straight for the wind channel. It didn’t dodge, didn’t attack—just sprinted forward, single-mindedly.

Wind Faeries gave chase, but they couldn’t keep up with the Skeletal Berserk Warrior.

The Skeletal Berserk Warrior was far faster than Lin Moyu, covering 20 kilometers in just over a minute. In the distance, Lin Moyu spotted the wind channel and the few monsters guarding its entrance. With a quick gesture, he cast Deterioration Curse, slowing the Wind Faeries and rendering them powerless to block his advance.

The Skeletal Berserk Warrior, carrying Lin Moyu on its back, barreled straight into the wind channel. It had been exactly two minutes since Lin Moyu entered the dungeon.

Inside the wind channel, they soared forward. After two minutes of flight, they reached the sky plain, where the Skeletal Berserk Warrior launched into another sprint.

A red glow rose as Deterioration Curse blanketed an area of the entire sky plain, slowing the Whirlwind Spren scattered across it. Then, a burst of green light signaled Poison Starburst. After the second class awakening, Poison Star Ring had merged with Bleed Curse, creating a new skill: Poison Starburst. With its range now extended to 100 meters—matching Deterioration Curse—both skills broke out over the same area.

Nearly a thousand monsters across the sky plain were instantly poisoned, the once-green landscape now cloaked in a sickly green hue, with the Whirlwind Spren suffering damage equivalent to 20,000 points of strength per second, lasting a full 5,000 seconds. Lin Moyu knew, however, they wouldn’t survive even a fraction of that time. 100 seconds would probably be enough to decimate them.

With the Whirlwind Spren unable to catch up to them, the Skeletal Berserk Warrior surged forward. In less than 30 seconds, it vaulted onto the first floating stone platform. From there, with Lin Moyu on its back, it quickly made way to the platform outside the palace.

Before the Whirlwind Tiger could react, Lin Moyu’s undead forces appeared en masse, launching an all-out assault. In a matter of seconds, the Whirlwind Tiger fell.

After charging into the palace, racing down the long corridor, and finally reaching the other palace, Lin Moyu saw the Wind God’s Mount. Before it could even awaken, his skeletons moved in, as swift and ruthless as seasoned butchers. The slumbering Wind God’s Mount was defeated yet again.

A large number of notifications flooded in, signaling the end of the Whirlwind Spren back on the sky plain under the effect of Poison Starburst.

Back in the Dungeon Hall, the bell rang again—but this time, the sound was different. Its chimes were fast, urgent, almost alarmed, reverberating continuously, tolling nearly a hundred times without pause. People in the Dungeon Hall were stunned, listening in disbelief. Veterans who had spent years in the hall, intimately familiar with every nuance of its rules, were baffled; none had ever heard the bell sound like this.

“Could the bell be broken?”

“Are you serious? The Dungeon Hall’s bell? That thing’s a platinum rank item; it’s not something that would break willy-nilly!”

“Then what does all this ringing mean?”

“The bell usually signals a new record. If it’s this urgent, maybe it’s...”

“Oh, keep guessing! You’re just making things up at this point!”

In the White God Courtyard, space rippled slightly, and Ning Tairan hurried over, his eyes immediately landing on an unexpected sight—Yan Kuangsheng and Bai Yiyuan sitting together, drinking tea. Ning Tairan’s expression turned incredulous; he knew these two were at odds. Peace between them, let alone sharing tea together, seemed like a miracle. Normally, they’d be clashing within seconds of meeting.

“Old Ning, what brings you here?” Bai Yiyuan asked with an unusually cheerful smile.

Yan Kuangsheng also greeted him, “Old Ning, it’s been a while.”

After acknowledging them both, Ning Tairan cut to the chase, “Lin Moyu just set a new record for hell rank difficulty.”

Bai Yiyuan was taken aback, “Isn’t that normal? Moyu has broken records before.”

Ning Tairan’s expression seemed off, “This time is different. Do you remember… that person from over 600 years ago?”

“That person from over 600 years ago?” Bai Yiyuan’s brow furrowed as he tried to recall, but nothing came to mind.

Yan Kuangsheng looked equally puzzled, “Old Ning, just tell us already. Don’t beat around the bush.”

Meng Anwen, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke up. “632 years ago, Jiang Yi, headmaster of Xiajing Academy.”

Ning Tairan nodded, “Yes, exactly. Him.”

Bai Yiyuan’s face frowned, “Ah, Jiang Yi—the one they called the greatest genius of the human race, believed to be the most likely to reach Transcendent God-level. But he vanished without a trace…”

Meng Anwen continued, “He didn’t vanish. He was killed.”

Bai Yiyuan uttered immediately, “How come I didn’t know that? Who could possibly have killed him?”

Meng Anwen snorted, “Not surprising for someone who rarely reads. Old Ning, you explain. Your lineage holds more information on this.”

Ning Tairan poured himself a cup of tea, taking a slow sip before speaking, “Jiang Yi was called Righteous God, and his class was Divine Light Swordsman—a high-tier legendary class. He was a two-talent, two-sublimation class users, and he had reached level 98. He was known as a being most likely to achieve the Transcendent God-level.”

“That year, a devastating battle took place at Fortress No. 9. Abyssal Demons launched an overwhelming assault, dispatching nearly a hundred Demon Kings. Humanity was on the brink of annihilation.”

“At that time, humanity had only 20 God-level powerhouses—at a crushing disadvantage. Yet Righteous God, the then strongest powerhouse of the human race, charged into the fray without hesitation, facing 50 Demon Kings by himself.”

“He not only managed to hold the line but even killed over 30 Demon Kings, displaying unparalleled combat strength.”

“That battle laid the foundation for humanity’s survival over the next 600 years.” Ning Tairan finished.

Meng Anwen picked up where Ning Tairan left off, “That battle was called the Foundational Battle, and Righteous God fell that very year.”

Yan Kuangsheng’s eyes filled with deep respect, “How is it that we’ve never heard of his deeds?”

Meng Anwen answered, “That was Righteous God’s wish. He didn’t want his death to be known, particularly to the Abyssal Demon Kings. As long as they believed he was still alive, they would hesitate to strike, buying humanity precious time.”

Ning Tairan’s voice grew solemn, “That’s why much of the information about him was erased. Before his death, Righteous God returned to Xiajing Academy and sealed all his remaining power to create a secret realm. And that realm lies within the Dungeon Hall.”

“According to the rules he set, entry to this secret realm is granted only under a specific condition: clearing a hell rank dungeon in under 10 minutes. Any hell rank dungeon will do.”

Bai Yiyuan raised an eyebrow, “Are you saying that Moyu cleared a hell rank dungeon in under 10 minutes?”

“8 minutes and 1 second, to be precise.” Ning Tairan nodded, then tapped the air with his finger, and a screen materialized before them, depicting Lin Moyu.