Cooperating to Clear the Secret Realm 

Lufan couldn't help but be moved - he had encountered some real bigshots. Qin Shanhai, the mayor of Jianghai City, was a well-known figure there. Not only was he the highest authority in Jianghai City, he was also one of the strongest, said to be a 54th-level knight about to undergo his third-class promotion. The Qin family could be considered the largest and most powerful family in Jianghai City. 

Gu Xiang directly acknowledged their background, likely intending to awe Lufan a bit with their identity, as no one in Jianghai City would dare offend the Qin family. However, for Lufan, their identity only surprised him a little. After all, with Little Night, Lufan's potential was boundless - a small Qin family could not rival him. 

After shaking Lufan's hand, Gu Xiang said, "Young man, let me be frank with you." He explained that they were from the Qin family, and had originally come out to accompany the young miss of the Qin family to level up in preparation for an important exam. But they had just discovered an opportunity secret realm that required at least eight people to enter, and they were one person short. 

"That's when you showed up - it may be destiny. So we'd like to offer you 100,000 dragon coins to join our team and fill that spot. In the secret realm, you won't need to fight yourself, we'll handle all the battles, and even the materials from the secret realm can all go to you. What do you think? This kind of opportunity doesn't come by easily." 

Normally, someone playing the material hunter role would be hard-pressed to refuse such an offer, with the generous compensation and the chance to get close to the mighty Qin family. But to Gu Xiang's surprise, Lufan shook his head, "I'm not that interested in money and materials, but I am very interested in the final rewards of the secret realm." 

After Lufan said this, the impatient Cai'er behind Gu Xiang couldn't hold back, angrily saying, "Hey, don't be so greedy! We're already giving you so much money and materials, this offer is already very generous. Do you have the nerve to negotiate the price?" 

Gu Xiang waved his hand, signaling Cai'er not to speak rashly and risk angering Lufan, which would make them lose their chance to enter the secret realm. 

The usually quiet Qiu Qiu, showing the bearing of a young miss, said seriously, "The rewards from the secret realm, we can't just give them to you for free." 

"However, you can propose some other conditions. If they're not too unreasonable, we can try to accommodate them." 

After a pause, Qiu Qiu said sternly, "Although we do need you, please don't be too greedy." 

Lufan rubbed his nose, realizing that if they couldn't reach an agreement, it would be a lose-lose situation. 

So Lufan smiled and said, "I think you've imagined me as too greedy." 

"I mean, I don't want to just be a number to fill a spot, I want to collaborate with you to clear this secret realm." 

"I assume you all know the rules for collaboratively clearing a secret realm? Based on the total healing and damage output rankings within the team, the rewards from clearing the secret realm will be chosen in descending order." 

"You want to cooperate with us to enter the secret realm?" Qiu Qiu was a bit surprised. 

Lufan nodded, "That's right, that's what I mean." 

Qiu Qiu looked at Gu Xiang, and Gu Xiang's expression also revealed some surprise, but he then discreetly nodded to Qiu Qiu, seeming to agree with Lufan's idea. 

As Lufan said, there were commonly accepted rules for collaboratively clearing secret realms and dungeons - after clearing, the rewards would be chosen in descending order based on the combined healing and damage output rankings. 

This method was very fair, but it was actually more advantageous for Gu Xiang's side. Gu Xiang's level was very high, and Qiu Qiu was a hidden class, so their combined healing and damage output would be quite impressive, likely ranking in the top two spots. 

As for the others, they were around level 20, including some high-damage classes like mages and archers. As a material hunter, Lufan would be lucky to rank in the top five. 

A secret realm usually only rewarded three to four items, so Qiu Qiu's group could likely claim all the rewards. 

Gu Xiang guessed that Lufan probably thought he could hunt fierce beasts and collect materials on his own in the Stone Plain, so he was confident in his strength. Little did he know, his calculations were off - he might not even rank in the top five if it was based on the rankings. 

After exchanging glances with Qiu Qiu, Gu Xiang agreed to Lufan's request: "Okay, since you want to clear the secret realm through cooperation, then let's do it cooperatively."