Chapter 63: The Global Professional Tournament is About to Begin!

[🎉 Shoutout to Darth Melkor, Brandon Eugley, Dave Jake, David Aderjou and 1 other(whose name I couldn't write) for joining patreon. Thank you very much.🤗]

Zhang Yue furrowed his brow slightly as he saw someone sprawled across his bed.

It must be the "pink-haired girl" from next door, right?

He couldn't help but wonder, When did she come back?

On top of that, Zhang Yue could distinctly smell a strong scent of alcohol lingering in the air.

Judging by the smell, she'd probably gotten drunk outside and stumbled into the wrong room by accident.

With no other options, Zhang Yue left the room, gently closing the door behind him, and headed to a nearby hotel just outside his residential area. He booked a single room.

He didn't want to go back to that "home" again.

Lying down on the hotel bed, Zhang Yue opened his phone to check the trending news in Linhai City. Unsurprisingly, the top story was still about the upcoming First National Professional Tournament.

Every year on the tournament's opening day, it's the hottest topic among professional fighters, not just in the nation, but around the world.

However, Zhang Yue's attention was drawn to the seventh trending article: The Murder Case at the Professional Guild Solved – The Culprit Caught by Linhai City Police.

Before he could open the article, a FlyMail message popped up from Su Jinyan:

"Zhang Yue, did you see the trending news? They've caught the murderer who wiped out the Assassin Mercenary Group!"

"According to the police, it was a drunkard who accidentally set the place on fire, burning them all alive in their workshop."

Zhang Yue replied, "Do you believe that?"

"Of course not! That's absurd!" Su Jinyan responded quickly. "These were all highly trained professionals. How could they have no sense of danger, and just let a drunk set fire to their place?"

"It feels like they just found a scapegoat to close the case," Su Jinyan added. "Which means whoever's behind this is incredibly powerful. I still think it's Chen Tianqiang!"

"Zhang Yue, you better be careful!"

"Yeah, I know," Zhang Yue replied.

Closing FlyMail, Zhang Yue lay back on the bed, hands behind his head, mulling over the letter he'd received earlier in the day.

"Shura... the Professional Tournament..."

He picked up his phone again, searching for "National Professional Tournament."

It was already the number one trending topic in Longguo.

Since it began more than a decade ago, the tournament has been held annually. This year marked its 12th edition.

The competition is divided into four rounds: the citywide qualifiers, provincial battles, national challenges, and the world finals.

Every year, the Professional Tournament draws attention from countless participants.

The prize pool is substantial—just securing a top spot in the city qualifiers earns a cash reward of 100,000 yuan!

The rewards for the provincial and national levels are even higher.

For many professionals struggling financially, this is a fast track to wealth.

But beyond the monetary rewards, the tournament offers something more: it's a platform to build fame, elevate status, and gain recognition.

Those who make it through the national challenges and reach the world finals can even represent their country in the Killing World, where they will compete against foreign professionals to bring glory to the nation.

These are the figures that capture the nation's attention, and in the end, they are highly valued by the state, with bright futures ahead of them.

The strength of a country is measured by two things: the progress it makes in conquering otherworldly realms, and, more importantly, how its professionals perform in the World Finals.

As of now, on the World Honor Leaderboard:

The Lighthouse Nation stood proudly at number one with a total of 275 gold medals.

Russia was second with 180 golds.

The Cold Country was close behind, ranking third with 178.

Longguo… only placed fifth with 160 gold medals.

Had Zhang Yue not died so early in his previous life, Longguo could have easily earned another 100 golds by now.

Zhang Yue glanced at the registration rules and saw that the 12th Professional Tournament would begin in half a month, with a requirement that participants must be at least level 30 to sign up.

"Still five levels to go," Zhang Yue muttered to himself. "I'll head into the Fourth World tomorrow and grind."

With that plan in mind, he soon fell asleep.

He awoke at seven the next morning.

There was no need to go back to "that home." Instead, he logged into the game straight from the hotel.

"Ding~ Welcome to the Otherworld. Please select the world you wish to enter: [Third World: Descent of the Reapers] or [Fourth World: Dragon's Valley]!"

Without hesitation, Zhang Yue chose the latter.

"Ding~ Welcome to the Fourth World: Dragon's Valley! Based on your login location (Linhai City), your current safe zone is: The Grand Hall of Light!"

"Ding~ Please note: This safe zone is a shared area between Linhai City and Ganyang City. Professionals logging in from both regions will belong to the Grand Hall of Light."

A dazzling white light descended, and Zhang Yue found himself standing in the middle of a colossal temple!

All around him, ancient grand halls surrounded the area. Armored NPC Dragon Knights moved in an orderly fashion within the temple.

Above him, countless dragons soared through the sky!

[Fourth World: Dragon's Valley]

[Background: A thousand years ago, after the great war between the Light Dragon and the Black Dragon, the two leaders signed a peace treaty, agreeing not to invade each other's territories. However, the Black Dragon Clan has secretly been amassing strength. In recent years, they've grown bolder, frequently invading the Light Dragon Clan's lands. After nine centuries of peace, the Light Dragons have begun to lose their edge in battle. Adventurers, please assist the Light Dragon Clan Knights in defending the Grand Hall of Light.]

[World Quest 1: Slay at least three different lord-tier dragons. Progress: 0/3]

[World Quest 2: Earn a level 5 trust rating with a Dragon Knight. Progress: 0/5]

[Note: After completing the world quests, you will unlock the Fourth World Boss challenge. Defeat the boss to advance to the Fifth World.]

This was a world of dragons.

Zhang Yue was close to reaching level 30, and once he completed his fifth advancement, he could unlock the fifth pet battle slot.

"Getting a dragon as a pet wouldn't be a bad idea," Zhang Yue mused.

After all, with the Evolution Sigil in hand, even if it was a crippled dragon, he could eventually evolve it into a mythic-level doomsday battle dragon!

The key to conquering the Fourth World was simple: stick to one NPC and focus on building trust.

In the Fourth World, completing missions earns professionals "trust points," and the world quest requires a level 5 trust rating with an NPC.

As for the types of missions you could receive, they were randomly generated—guides couldn't even predict them!

The lower the mission difficulty, the fewer trust points rewarded, and vice versa.

All the NPCs in the Fourth World could assign tasks.

So, Zhang Yue randomly picked a silver-armored Dragon Knight named Luji, who was busy training dragons in the Grand Hall of Light.

"The Light Dragon Clan is in decline, and the Black Dragon Clan grows more arrogant by the day! Young man, go out and slay 300 Black Dragons for me. We need to boost our morale!" Luji casually tossed Zhang Yue a mission, then resumed his dragon training.

Zhang Yue's first mission was moderate in difficulty:

[Boost Morale 5] (Standard Mission)

[Difficulty Rating: 370]

[Description: Head to the Dark Mountains north of the Grand Hall of Light and slay the Black Dragons there to boost the morale of the Light Dragon Clan.]

[Reward: 100,000 XP, 15,000 ability points, +20 trust, random 2–3 star equipment +1, 40 silver coins]

[Time Limit: 2 days]

Many professionals had received missions in the Fourth World with only 1 or 2-star difficulties. The trust rewards were minimal, and they had to travel back and forth repeatedly.

So, Zhang Yue considered himself fairly lucky to have received this mission!

He went to the potion shop to stock up on 180 mana potions and 20 health potions.

Then, Zhang Yue left the safe zone of the Grand Hall of Light and headed for the Dark Mountains.

═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═

patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator

🥰 Support the translation and help me grow.🤓

Read upto 20 Extra chapter in Patreon