After leaving the Divine Capital, the rank emblems above Lin Mo and Ning Xi's heads immediately changed from shining blue-gold back to gold.
Their temporary rank privileges had expired. Just then, a notification window popped up before Lin Mo.
[Ding~ S-Rank Hidden Quest: Heart Knot completion progress: 30%!]
Buzz!
Lin Mo almost dropped to the floor.
"The progress actually jumped by more than twenty percent all at once?"
At this moment, Siya's breathtakingly beautiful face was filled with a smile unlike any she had shown before.
It was clear that the root of her heart knot had always been her family.
Because she feared that her family no longer accepted her and that she would never be able to return to the God Clan, Siya had been depressed every day, eventually developing this heart knot.
But after Lin Mo brought her to the Divine Capital, Siya now understood that her Fifth Brother, His Highness the Fifth Prince of the God Clan, Changge, had loved her all along and had never forgotten her.
At that moment, Siya suddenly hugged Lin Mo tightly, "Brother Lin Mo, thank you for bringing Siya to the Divine Capital."
Lin Mo smiled, "See? I didn't lie to you. Your family never gave up on you."
Siya nodded, happiness overflowing from her golden eyes, "Mhm!"
Just then, through the telepathic ability of the gold title Syncronised, Lin Mo once again heard Siya's inner thoughts.
'Although Fifth Brother still treats me as his little sister, just like before...'
'Twenty years ago, my stubbornness destroyed the peace treaty between the God Clan and the Ghost Clan. Will Father forgive me?'
'Have I already become the family's sinner?'
Lin Mo had to admit, the telepathy from this gold title really was an incredible ability.
Otherwise, he still wouldn't know how to proceed with the next stage of the S-rank hidden quest Heart Knot.
But after hearing her thoughts, everything became clear.
'Treat the problem at its source. Since Siya's only concern now is that she won't gain her father's approval, then when we reach the Divine Kingdom, I'll start with her father.'
'As long as I can win her father's approval, just like I did with the Fifth Prince, the heart knot should be completely resolved.'
At that point, Lin Mo understood that if he wanted to preserve Siya's smile forever and completely finish the S-rank hidden quest Heart Knot, he would ultimately have to wait until reaching King rank before personally taking her to the Divine Kingdom.
However, Lin Mo's expression was somewhat serious.
Because Changge had just told him that the remaining Holy Water in the Divine Pool could last for at most one week.
In other words, Lin Mo had to clear the Serpent King Island secret realm within seven days and obtain the Serpent Clan's treasure, Ruyi, to reopen the channel and draw the Holy Water from the Divine Kingdom into the Divine Capital.
Otherwise, once the Holy Water completely dried up after seven days, Lin Mo would never be able to take Siya to the Divine Kingdom.
The S-rank hidden quest Heart Knot would inevitably fail.
Compared to being permanently blacklisted by the God Clan, Siya's permanent death was the truly serious consequence.
Still, this wasn't something that could be rushed.
He had to take it one step at a time.
Seeing that it was already six o'clock in the evening, Lin Mo remembered how excited Ning Xi and Zhao Lingyun had been at the hotel at noon while discussing where to go that night.
Not wanting to ruin their mood, he said, "It's getting late. Let's call it a day. Log off in a bit, get ready, bring Ling'er along, and let's go out for dinner."
Ning Xi asked, "Brother Lin Mo, we're not doing the dungeon?"
"No."
Lin Mo said, "We'll do it tomorrow."
According to the strategy Ning Fei had prepared, the only key to activating the Serpent King Island secret realm was to clear the five surrounding Serpent Clan dungeons and obtain the Serpent Clan Marks.
According to the map, the five Serpent Clan dungeons were.
[Level 75 Dungeon: Serpent Demon Territory — Gold I required]
[Level 76 Dungeon: Venomous Serpent Forest — Gold II required]
[Level 77 Dungeon: Wrath of the Giant Pythons — Gold III required]
[Level 78 Dungeon: Giant Serpent Siege — Gold IV required]
[Level 79 Dungeon: Serpent Nest — Gold V required]
With Lin Mo and Ning Xi currently at Gold I, they could only enter the first dungeon, Serpent Demon Territory.
So Lin Mo's plan was simple.
Tomorrow, after reaching Gold II, they would clear both the level 75 Serpent Demon Territory and the level 76 Venomous Serpent Forest together.
That would save them from making one trip today, only to come back again tomorrow.
After that, "By jumping one minor rank every day through the Super God Arena, we can clear one dungeon each day."
"We'll finish all five Serpent Clan dungeons within five days."
"That leaves two full days to conquer Serpent King Island, which is more than enough."
"That way, before the Holy Water in the Divine Capital runs dry, we'll definitely obtain the Serpent Clan's treasure within seven days."
Everything was under control.
Lin Mo and Ning Xi returned to the city and logged off.
———
Offline, Ning Xi changed into a beautiful short dress, linked arms with Lin Mo, and left the hotel together with Zhao Lingyun.
Under the close protection of dozens of bodyguards, they headed for the brightly lit night market.
After a full day of work, it was finally time for the three of them to relax.
.
.
.
[Ten O'clock That Night]
It was the time of day when office workers and student players had the most free time.
Streams of white light continued flashing throughout Inferno City.
Players from all over logged in one after another.
The city was bustling.
At the South Plaza, a girl in a black skintight outfit, with long legs and a graceful figure, stood there alone.
She checked the time from time to time while looking around, as though waiting for someone.
Under the moonlight, her icy, stunning beauty, as cold as an iceberg, attracted many male players who came over to strike up a conversation.
"Beauty, are you alone? Want your big brother to take you leveling? I'm a top-ten-thousand player on the Inferno City Heavenly Ranking."
"Miss, let's be friends! I'll look after you in the world of Divine Oracle from now on!"
The girl swept her cold gaze over the male players whose eyes roamed freely over her body.
She couldn't even be bothered to respond.
Instead, she opened her status panel and turned on her ID display.
[Witch · Frost Dance] (Lv. 63 Third Advancement Assassin · Heavenly Ranking No. 4)
The moment her previously hidden ID appeared, the players trying to chat her up were all stunned.
Not wanting to embarrass themselves any further, they quickly dispersed.
Just then, Nether, who had just returned from the wilderness, arrived and met up with Ji Ningshuang.
Zhang Long was with him.
"As a rule, other people wait for me. I've never waited for anyone."
Ji Ningshuang said to Nether with some dissatisfaction, "You're the first person who's ever made me wait."
Without wasting any more words, she got straight to the point, "Last night you said we'd be going somewhere tonight."
"So? Once we get there, are you confident you can deal with Divine Advent Seraph and Rulebound?"
Nether answered, "Yes."
Ji Ningshuang immediately became interested.
"Then let's go."
At that moment, Nether said to Zhang Long beside him, "There's nothing for you to do for now. You can leave."
Zhang Long acknowledged the order, "Yes."
Watching Zhang Long log off on the spot, a trace of coldness flashed across Ji Ningshuang's eyes.
"If he ever finds out that his brother, Chen Jun, died by my hand, he'll probably turn against me."
"I'll have my godfather send someone to kill him now and eliminate any future trouble."
Nether stopped her, "He's still useful."
"You just feel sorry for him, don't you?"
"You're such a hopelessly soft-hearted person."
Looking at Nether, Ji Ningshuang suddenly saw the image of her older brother in her mind, the one who had died a miserable death after trying to help someone.
Her eyes reddened as she said, "In this world, the least worthwhile thing is being a good person."
"Tell me. What's he useful for?"
"Forget it. I don't feel like talking about it."
"So where exactly are you taking me?"
Nether said nothing.
He simply turned and walked toward the south gate of Inferno City.
"Follow me."
Still doubtful, Ji Ningshuang followed after Nether.
At the same time...
Whoosh!
A flash of white light descended.
Zhang Long, who had just logged off, immediately logged back in on the spot.
His eyes remained fixed on Ji Ningshuang as she walked toward the south of the city.
Quietly, he followed after them...