Rebirth of the Thief Who Roamed the World

Nie Yan’s return didn’t merely shock the players of Asskickers United but the entire playerbase. Originally, many people felt that even if he came back now, it wouldn’t stir up any big waves. After all, he was only Level 156, and over these past three years, he had long since fallen from the number one spot. Catching up to the players at the peak was easier said than done!

Most players were pessimistic about a potential return of Nie Yan. However, when they saw the global announcement, they all quietly shut their mouths.

Someone did the calculations. Every clear of the Dark Demonic Space netted about 5 billion experience. If Nie Yan kept grinding the dungeon at his current pace, he could get in about five to six runs in a 16-hour day. At that pace, he would go from Level 156 to Level 180 in only two months!

Howling Wind was the previous record holder for the fastest clear time in the Dark Demonic Space. He averaged around seven hours a run and achieved his five-hour record at Level 180. From Level 163 to Level 180, it took him a total of seven months. Even Tang Yao failed to beat this record. However, Nie Yan had done just that and he wasn’t even close to Level 180!

The frightening Mad Rogue. Did this mean that Nirvana Flame was going to rise back to the top?

The Albalia Void Lava Ruins in the Sword of the War God. A team of players was advancing through the void lava. The highest level among them was 202 and the lowest 196.

「Howling Wind, look at the global announcements!」a Warrior said in voice chat.

Howling Wind opened up the global announcements and looked at the latest one. His eyes lit up.「Nirvana Flame is back!?」

「Wow, he is already strong enough to clear the Dark Demonic Space, and in under two hours! The rewards there are really good.」

「Howling Wind got a Chaos-grade Mage robe for his top time. I wonder what Nirvana Flame got.」

「All the top experts are probably starting to feel the pressure. I wonder how long it will take Nirvana Flame to climb back up to the top after his three-year hiatus. After all, only a freak like him can pull something like that off.」

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While his teammates were chatting, Howling Wind was lost in thought. Like many others, he thought Nie Yan had died three years ago. At that time, he was filled with regret. He wondered if he would have the qualifications to challenge Nie Yan when he caught back up.

Nie Yan was also the main subject of discussion in the Fallen Angel guild chat.

Back when Nie Yan was at his prime, no one in both factions even came close to him. Although he had fallen behind a lot, no one could say for certain he wouldn’t overtake them again. So, many of the players in Fallen Angel had the inclination to snuff out this potential threat while it was still in the cradle.

「Boss, Nirvana Flame is grinding in the Dark Demonic Space. Let’s send some people over to ambush him.」

「Yeah, Boss! We can’t risk Nirvana Flame rising back to the top again!」

...

Everyone in Fallen Angel was waiting for Plenty’s reply.

Plenty was also in the Sword of God at this moment. Seeing the discussion in the guild chat, he faintly smiled.「That kind of mindset is for the weak. If you have time to think about getting in the way of others, you’re better off spending it levelling up and getting stronger.」

The players in Fallen Angel’s guild chat went silent. They no longer brought up this topic.

“Boss, I know you’re a straightforward person who does everything in the open. But if we really don’t stop Nirvana Flame, I’m worried... You know, we can always hire someone outside of our guild,” a Warrior beside him said.

Plenty shook his head. “It’s fine, no need. I want to see how Nirvana Flame will make up for this three-year gap.”

The Warrior’s eyes flashed with a subtle light. He met gazes with the several teammates around him.

Plenty lowered his head in contemplation. He couldn’t help but bitterly smile. Clearing the Dark Demonic Space in under two hours. This was truly astonishing. Even he felt the inclination to send someone to go after Nie Yan.

If you really can climb back up to the peak, I will gladly await the day!

...

Nie Yan was still grinding away in the Dark Demonic Space. Every time he exited the dungeon, he would only be out for a few seconds before stealthing and entering back in. He discovered that the number of players outside the entrance had spiked. There were faces from Asskickers United and from Fallen Angel. There were even quite a few guildless players. Still, Most were from Asskickers United. They were guarding the area.

Nie Yan realized these people were sent by Guo Huai. Likely, Guo Huai was worried there would be people looking to ambush him and interfere with his levelling.

Nie Yan didn’t want to betray their good intentions. He didn’t linger and continued levelling.

After a dozen more runs, Nie Yan averaged a clear time of around two and a half hours. Breaking through the two-hour mark was difficult. He would have to get the Divine Eclipse Dragon a bit higher level first. Unfortunately, he didn’t receive rewards for breaking his own records. The only exception was if he broke through the two-hour mark.

It took Nie Yan another five days to break through the two-hour mark. His new record was 1 hour, 52 minutes, and 7 seconds.

Nie Yan’s heart stirred. He had know idea what this Dark Void Iron was. He opened his inventory and checked it.

The Dark Void Iron was about the size of a fist and dark black in colour, like a lump of coal. It shone a black lustre.

The entire playerbase had their eyes glued on the leaderboards for the Dark Demonic Space. They felt their scalps go numb as they watched Nie Yan repeatedly breaking his own record. It reminded them all too much of the impossibilities Nie Yan achieved time and time again all those years ago. He would be back.

Nie Yan grinded like a madman. Within no more than 30 seconds of clearing the Dark Demonic Space, he would be back on that bridge again. Every time his Divine Eclipse Dragon levelled up, his speed further increased to the point where he could clear it in around an hour and a half.

Players across both factions started speculating whether Nie Yan would break the one-hour mark before hitting Level 180. At the current trend, that was a real possibility. Either way, everyone realized it would become an unbreakable record regardless.

Apart from the shock, there was also a deep-felt sense of reverence for Nie Yan. Just how long had he been grinding in the Dark Demonic Space? At least two weeks consecutively. If it were an ordinary player, they would’ve long since puked out blood from the repetition. For him to persevere for this long, it was no surprise he used to be the number one player.

After an entire month, Nie Yan reached Level 175. From his point of view, this levelling speed was still fairly slow. Lil’ Gold, the Violet Eye Dragon, and the Divine Eclipse Dragon were all levelling up far quicker. Lil’ Gold was already level 185, the Violet Eye Dragon Level 175, and the Divine Eclipse Dragon Level 183.

The Divine Eclipse Dragon contributed most of the damage. So, its share of the experience was also the largest.

The Level 183 Divine Eclipse Dragon was ludicrously powerful. It had 367 spells in total, of which 35 were ordinary AoE spells, three were single target Forbidden Magic, and two were AoE Forbidden Magic.

With this kind of super pet by his side, Nie Yan’s levelling speed was naturally extremely fast. Ordinary players would have no way of imagining this.

Pets were only good for levelling these days. They had some influence on his strength, but it wasn’t much. Even though the average skill level of players was much higher than before, an old dog could still learn new tricks. During Nie Yan’s time in the Dark Demonic Space, his pets were doing almost all the work. He was following behind while binging PvP videos. From them, he gained a few new insights. His skills weren’t necessarily inferior to others. The biggest differentiators were his level and gear.

Levelling inside the Dark Demonic Space was already starting to get too slow for Nie Yan’s taste. He planned to make one final attempt at breaking the one-hour mark, then leave to find a more suitable place to level.

As soon as Nie Yan entered the Dark Demonic Space, he had Kalenna buff his several pets to the max with her blessings. Afterwards, they steamrolled through everything in their path. Their enormous frames were like a giant plow, leaving a trail of slaughter in their wake and shoving countless Dark Demonkin off the bridge.

This was absolutely the fastest and most enjoyable way to level. Seeing the health bars of his pets dip, Nie Yan hurriedly had Kalenna and Paladin Lafus heal them. Like this, they pressed forward through the bridge at an astonishing speed until the tower was in sight. He made the last sprint and touched the crystal. Looking at the time, he smirked—59 minutes and 59 seconds. Even though he had just barely broke the one-hour mark, it was enough.

Previously, it was a piece of Void Iron. Now it was a piece of Void Gold. After looking them up online, Nie Yan learned void metal was used to reinforce equipment. It only worked on Legendary-grade equipment and would upgrade them to Chaos gear, greatly boosting their stats.

It looked like it was about time he visited the Craftsman God. Nie Yan wondered how powerful Zennarde’s Sword would become after being reinforced. He couldn’t help but be filled with expectation. Maybe it would rise to be on par with the Death God’s Edge.

Nie Yan unsummoned his pets and teleported out of the Dark Demonic Space. He started taking his leave. There were too many people in the vicinity. Summoning the Shadow Demon Wolf would be too eye-catching.

Not far away, six Evil Faction players were looking around. Spotting Nie Yan in his black cloak, they lowered their heads and whispered something before leaving.

Seeing the expressions of these players, Nie Yan immediately sensed something off. Before long, he saw a dozen Evil Faction players moving in to surround him. Their intentions were obvious. Likely, these people were from Fallen Angel. After all, he was their greatest threat right now.

The only reason Nie Yan nearly died at the hands of Devil Sky’s party of five was because his level was too low. There was almost a 30-level difference. Now, he was already Level 177. If these players wanted to kill him, it wouldn’t be that simple.