I am the Arcane Archer, and all my skills are self-created.

Li Wu did feel a little uncomfortable after leaving Hua Zitong.

Without that figure who was always at the forefront, drawing monsters and blocking damage for him, the whole world seemed much emptier.

He is now like a spear that has lost its shield; although its attack power is still deadly, it must be constantly vigilant against threats from all sides.

Instead of heading to the Swamp of Sorrows immediately, he returned to Ironforge first.

He needed to get rid of that epic warhammer while replenishing some potions and scrolls.

When leveling up alone, the demand for consumables will be greater.

To avoid attracting attention, Li Wu deliberately changed into an ordinary cloak that he had taken from a member of the Blood Wolf Guild, thus concealing his face and ID.

His current identity is too sensitive. When he walks down the street, he's like a walking lottery ticket, and everyone wants to come up and scratch it.

The number of players on the streets of Ironforge was significantly greater than when they first arrived.

Clearly, during the time he and Hua Zitong were mining, many more players successfully reached level 20 and left the starting village.

Players were discussing the leaderboards everywhere on both sides of the street.

"Have you heard? The master of 'Seeing Flowers in the Fog' has mythical equipment! Is it true?"

"Of course it's on the leaderboard, how could it be fake? The whole region is buzzing about it!"

"My God, mythical equipment... If I could have it, I'd be laughing in my sleep."

"Laughing in your sleep? You're dreaming! Both the Blood Wolf Guild and the Rise of the Storm Guild have issued server-wide wanted posters with a 10-gold-coin bounty for his location, which is shrouded in mist. He's a rat in the street now; whoever finds him will be rich!"

"Ten gold coins! Are you crazy?!"

Hearing these comments, Li Wu paused for a moment, then continued walking forward as if nothing had happened.

A bounty of ten gold coins...

These big guilds really think too highly of themselves.

He went to the auction house and anonymously listed the Black Iron Warlord's Warhammer, setting the starting price at 20 gold coins and the buy-it-now price at 50 gold coins, with the auction lasting 24 hours.

He believed that this level 25 epic two-handed hammer was absolutely worth the price.

After doing all that, he went to the pharmacy and exchanged almost all the money he had left for intermediate life and mana restoration potions, as well as a few [Rock Guardian Scrolls] for survival.

All preparations are complete.

Li Wu opened the map, confirmed the location of "Sorrowful Swamp", and then quietly left Ironforge.

The Swamp of Sorrows, located southeast of Ironforge, is an area perpetually shrouded in gray mist.

The monsters here are mainly level 22 to 24 [Swamp Corpses] and [Venomous Leeches], which not only have considerable attack power, but also inflict disgusting continuous damage and slowing effects.

Most importantly, the terrain here is extremely complex, with mud pits and deep water pits everywhere. If you're not careful, you'll get stuck and die.

Therefore, few players choose to level up here.

But that's precisely why Hua Zitong recommended this place.

Fewer people means safer.

Those disgusting monsters were no problem at all for Li Wu, who possessed the [Insightful Purification Arrow].

It took Li Wu nearly half an hour to finally reach the edge of the Swamp of Sorrows.

A putrid, watery stench assaulted the senses, making one want to vomit.

Without hesitation, he stepped directly into the gray mist.

Upon entering the swamp, visibility was immediately severely limited, with a range of less than ten meters.

The ground beneath our feet was soft mud; if we stepped on it, half of our ankles would sink in, making it very difficult to move around.

Li Wu became extremely vigilant, keeping a watchful eye on his surroundings while slowly making his way deeper into the swamp, following the safe route marked on Hua Zitong's map.

"rustle……"

Suddenly, a faint scraping sound came from the mist to his left.

Li Wu stopped immediately, and the Arcane Bow instantly appeared in his hand.

He held his breath and waited quietly.

A few seconds later, a rotting humanoid monster covered in green slime staggered out of the mist.

【Swamp Corpse】, LV22.

The moment it appeared, Li Wu's arrow had already been shot out.

Instantaneous Fusion Penetrating Arrow!

"puff!"

The white beam of light struck the corpse's head precisely.

-2410! (Weakness Critical Hit)

A level 22 normal monster with just over 2,000 HP was instantly killed by this arrow.

Before it could even scream, it turned into a pool of black water and merged into the mud beneath its feet.

[System notification: You have killed a LV22 Swamp Corpse, gaining 88 experience points.]

[System Notification: Your talent 'Soul Devourer' has been triggered, permanently increasing your Luck by 0.044 points and Intelligence by 0.044 points.]

"good."

Li Wu is very satisfied with the damage he has suffered.

It can instantly kill monsters of the same level, so its leveling efficiency is definitely not low.

He continued onward.

Soon, he encountered the second wave of monsters.

This time there are three [Swamp Corpses] and two [Highly Poisonous Leeches] lurking in the puddle.

Li Wu did not hesitate at all.

[Chain Lightning Arrow]!

"Sizzle—"

Blue and white lightning bolts, like serpents, leaped back and forth between the five monsters.

A series of paralysis and slowing effects instantly sluggish the monsters' movements.

Immediately following were two [Explosive Burning Arrows].

"Boom! Boom!"

The violent explosion created a scorching shockwave in the confined space.

The fire damage, combined with the lightning damage, instantly wiped out all five monsters.

The entire process was smooth and quick, taking no more than ten seconds.

"It's the same even without tanks."

Li Wu's mind was finally at ease.

With his current damage output, as long as he isn't surrounded by a large number of monsters, soloing is no problem at all.

Following the map's directions, he arrived at the first "monster spawn point" marked by Hua Zitong.

This is a small hill surrounded by several huge rocks, about two meters higher than the surrounding area, and with only one narrow entrance.

This is a perfect, easy-to-defend, difficult-to-attack position for dealing damage.

He stood on the high ground, looking down at the seven or eight rotting corpses and leeches swimming in the mud below.

He took a deep breath and drew the bow.

A solitary, yet highly efficient massacre begins.

[Explosive Burning Arrow]!

[Chain Lightning Arrow]!

[Fusion Piercing Arrow]!

He wielded a variety of powerful skills with ease, like a grim reaper, precisely reaping the lives of the monsters below.

The experience points were increasing rapidly at a visible rate.

He was completely immersed in the thrill of killing monsters, and even forgot the passage of time.

He didn't know how much time had passed when, after clearing out another wave of monsters, he was about to sit down and recover his mana when a crisp system notification sounded in his ear.

"Ding!"

[System Notification: Your auctioned item, 'Black Iron Warlord's Warhammer,' has been sold for a buy-it-now price of 50 gold. After deducting a 10% commission, you will receive 45 gold.]

Become!

Li Wu's spirits lifted suddenly.

45 gold coins!

With this money, his and Hua Zitong's plan to create a guild had the most solid financial foundation.

He opened the leaderboard, wanting to see which sucker... no, which discerning hero had bought the warhammer.

[Equipment Ranking]

Second Place: Black Iron Warlord's Warhammer (Epic) Owner: Iron Banner

"So it was him."

Li Wu smiled.

The leader of the Iron Blood Alliance, Iron Blood Battle Flag.

A pure warrior who reveres strength.

This warhammer was indeed tailor-made for him.

However, just as Li Wu was about to close the leaderboard and continue grinding monsters, his gaze was drawn to a change on the level leaderboard.

[21st District Level Ranking]

First Place: Seeing Through the Mist (Arcane Archer) LV22

Second place: Sword Pointing at Rose (Knight) LV21

Third Place: Iron Blood Banner (Warrior) LV21

Fourth place: Fengyun Jiutian (Mage) LV21

Fifth Place: Seeking Mist Among Flowers (Warrior) LV21

……

Hua Zitong's name dropped from second place to fifth place.

Meanwhile, the leaders of the three major guilds, Sword Pointing at Rose, Iron Blood Banner, and Wind and Cloud Nine Heavens, have caught up and surpassed her.

"Looks like they weren't idle while I was grinding monsters," Li Wu muttered to himself.

This is normal.

Hua Zitong went to do a job change quest, so her level will naturally be temporarily stagnant.

The leaders of those large guilds, with the support of the entire guild's resources, level up 24/7, and it's only a matter of time before they catch up.

Li Wu didn't care about this.

He believed that once Hua Zitong returned after completing her job change, catching up to this level would be a piece of cake.

What he really cared about was something else entirely.

He discovered that several hours had passed since the leaderboard was launched.

But his name still firmly holds the top spot, a level ahead of the second place.

He was just a lone individual, peacefully grinding monsters here.

What does this tell us?

This shows that even the largest guilds, with all their resources combined, couldn't match his leveling efficiency!

"A bunch of...useless trash."

Li Wu shook his head and closed the leaderboard.

He drew his bow again and aimed it at the monster that had just spawned.

The lonely path of leveling up, though tedious, is all worthwhile as you watch the experience bar rise rapidly.