With an attack range of over a hundred meters, long-range attacks were now possible.

Xiao Chen's team had gained five new members, all around level ten or eleven.

There weren't many high-level monsters, so bringing these people up to level 50 would probably only get Xiao Chen to level 51 or 52.

The level increase was minimal, but the rewards from killing would be substantial.

If he could trigger "One in a Million" twice a day, he could gain 20 attribute points daily.

By the time they all reached level 50, Xiao Chen's total attributes might increase by two thousand points.

Going from over four thousand to over six thousand was a significant improvement, so much so that Xiao Chen wasn't even eager to level up anymore.

Grinding attributes every day, if he could do it for a few years, would be quite terrifying.

Of course, no one would give him that much time to settle, so he had to make every second count.

After solidifying his foundation, leveling up would also be very necessary.

He would probably only take people to level up a few times.

At level ten, being able to pay two hundred gold for someone to help them level up meant they weren't ordinary.

They were either exceptionally talented or came from wealthy families.

For ordinary professionals, having a few gold coins at the start was already extraordinary.

"A tank, a healer, and three damage dealers—this is a very good setup."

Once they reached level 50, they might even be able to run dungeons together.

"When these new professionals reach level 50, the Plane Treasury rewards will be two thousand gold each, so they won't lose out."

Since they were starting to level up, efficiency was the top priority.

"You five, drop everything and teleport to the Guild Territory immediately."

"To get more experience bonuses, join the Gale Squad first. You can leave anytime if you want to later.

You can talk in the squad anytime, just speak up if you have questions."

Soon, all five arrived at the Guild Territory.

Seeing their professional information, Xiao Chen felt like his luck was unusually good today.

"Li Hailan, Priest, B-level talent!"

"Wang Hai, Berserker, C-level talent."

"Wang Min, Water Mage, D-level talent."

"Lin Fan, Monk, C-level talent."

"Zhu Ping, Archer, D-level talent."

Seeing these talent descriptions, Xiao Chen was stunned.

"Damn, isn't this a bit too strong? The lowest is D-level talent?"

And one of them was even a B-level professional, which was extraordinary.

These professionals were truly the future of the guild.

They might even hold a certain position in Tiannan City.

Xiao Chen originally just wanted to bring a few people along and earn some gold coins on the side.

Who would have thought these five were each stronger than him?

Xiao Chen stood below the city wall, too far to see their faces clearly.

They were all sixteen or seventeen-year-old Awakened, probably still youthful and without much in common with Xiao Chen.

"Stand on the city wall next to the defense tower, soak up the experience, and just wait to level up."

In front of Xiao Chen stood a row of skeleton clones, not for output, but to block any sudden danger.

After leaving those instructions, Xiao Chen got to work.

The group of teenagers stood on the city wall, watching from afar as Xiao Chen faced a horde of small monsters alone.

It was clear these young ones were eager to join in.

"Brother Xiao, do you need our help?"

"Captain, we want to earn some contribution points too."

"Captain, I can give you some buffs."

A group of kids who hadn't really fought monsters seemed quite impatient.

"Stay put, with your health, you'd be killed in one hit.

Once you reach level 20, you can come down from the wall."

Though he said that, Xiao Chen noticed their basic attributes were quite good.

Some of their total attributes might even exceed five hundred, people Xiao Chen once looked up to.

"By the way, where did you get your gold coins?"

When Xiao Chen was level ten, he couldn't even come up with ten gold coins.

"Brother Xiao, my family gave me a thousand gold coins after I Awakened."

"My family gave me less, only eight hundred gold coins.

But every ten levels, my family rewards me with two hundred gold coins."

"My family only gave me five hundred gold coins, but they bought me a bronze-level necklace and ring."

Necklaces and rings had no level requirements and could be worn at level one.

Alright, Xiao Chen felt he had nothing in common with them and didn't want to talk anymore.

Starting with a thousand gold coins, they could consume all the initial herbs, equip a full set of bronze gear, and even pay someone to help them level up.

"If I take on more people in the future, I need to charge more!"

While thinking about these things, Xiao Chen fired several arrows in succession.

With a buffer distance of over a hundred meters, the small monsters were all killed before they reached Xiao Chen.

"Solo grinding is a bit slower!"

Of course, it wasn't too far off.

Especially now that Xiao Chen had changed his gear, his attack speed had increased.

Xiao Chen wasn't very satisfied with his speed, but the five youngsters were amazed.

"Wow, almost leveling up with each wave of small monsters!"

"This leveling speed is insane."

"Brother Xiao, are you a C-level or D-level talent? Or are you a B-level expert?"

"The Archer profession is strong too."

Xiao Chen was speechless:

"You guys just chat among yourselves, no need to talk to me."

"I like peace and quiet; talking affects my grinding efficiency."

Xiao Chen felt a sense of crisis: being surpassed by Su Ming, Zhang Fan, and others was one thing, but he didn't want to be outdone by these youngsters too.

"No, no, it won't happen!"

Xiao Chen's current attributes already surpassed those of D-level professionals of the same level.

Once he brought this group up, he would have the strength of a C-level professional.

Thinking of this, Xiao Chen regained some confidence.

Having a long attack range was indeed comfortable, and when he reached level thirty, he could take them to run a few rounds of level four normal dungeons.

Soloing dungeons was still challenging, but with a few youngsters helping, it wouldn't be too difficult.

These guys had high ranks, much stronger than Wang Zhen and Liu Mei.

The key was they were wealthy, so their gear wouldn't be lacking.

Leveling up at low levels was really fast, and in just two days, the five youngsters all reached level 20.

Once they hit level 20, they couldn't wait and rushed down from the city wall.

"You have received the War Aura from Li Hailan, attack +10%, defense +10%."

Seeing this buff, Xiao Chen was stunned.

Damn, this is amazing, bringing such talented individuals made Xiao Chen feel honored.

Moreover, this talented girl was elegantly beautiful, with a sweet smile.

"You have received the Battle Intent buff, attack +200."

"You have received Hydrotherapy, health +10 per second."

"You have received the Bloodthirst effect, attack speed +10%."

Alright, Xiao Chen regretted it.

If he had known they were this impressive, he would have let them help earlier.

"You guys just do your thing, if there's danger, run towards me."

As long as they didn't encounter elite monsters, there wouldn't be any problems.

Even if they did encounter an elite monster, with Xiao Chen's current attack range and movement speed, he could kite it for a long time.

"Brother Xiao, did you Awaken this year too?"

Xiao Chen was really a bit troubled; could he say he Awakened two years ago?

"I don't answer personal questions."

"Then we'll ask about professions. Why aren't you leveling up quickly, but instead helping us?"

"These things need someone to do them.

When I was at a low level, someone helped me, and now it's my turn to help you.

Passing the torch from one generation to the next, that's the principle."

Of course, Xiao Chen wouldn't say he was just there to make money, and he regretted charging too little.

Hearing Xiao Chen's answer, the group looked at him with admiration.

After all, they were young and easy to fool.

"I know why Brother Xiao only symbolically charged two hundred gold coins; it's probably to bring out a more promising group of people who can contribute more to the guild in the future."

"As expected of a B-level professional, smart!"

"Brother Xiao, this is homemade medicinal wine from my family, a small token of respect, please have a drink."

The speaker was Wang Hai, the Berserker, looking at Xiao Chen with anticipation.

Xiao Chen had never drunk alcohol before and didn't plan to.

But seeing Wang Hai's expression, he decided to take a symbolic sip.

"Hiss, spicy!"

This kind of wine, even a dog wouldn't drink.

Just as Xiao Chen was about to return the wine, he heard notifications:

"Strength +1"

"Strength +1"

One sip of wine added two points of strength?

This wasn't wine; it was a miraculous elixir.

Xiao Chen took another big gulp, and several attributes popped up immediately.

"Haha, a rare find indeed.

It's rare to fight together here, let's drink heartily."

This was definitely a second-generation wealthy, offering bronze-level spirit wine so casually.

At this point, Xiao Chen hadn't consumed such high-tier attribute items.

Xiao Chen originally wanted to reciprocate, but he really had nothing to offer.

"Brother Xiao, I have some good pastries, try them."

"I have some too."

"Alright, I can't refuse such hospitality, so I'll accept them.

Otherwise, taking from just one would be unfair."

Xiao Chen felt a bit guilty, having taken quite a few things from them.

But he couldn't bear not to take them; they were attribute points.

Without a better way to repay, he could only grind more small monsters.

"If you get tired, go back to the city wall to rest, I'll increase the intensity of my grinding."

They were all patrons, so he had to serve them well.

Xiao Chen's intensity wasn't just a bit higher; he was grinding monsters like crazy.

After ten hours, they couldn't hold on any longer.

Xiao Chen's grinding intensity was truly impressive.

A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled.

After grinding monsters for over a month, the youngsters all reached level 30.

They could now work together to kill level 40 small monsters, which was quite impressive.

The higher the level, the harder it was to level up. It took a month to go from level 30 to 40.

This leveling speed was already very fast.

After reaching level 40, even without Xiao Chen, they could grind monsters independently.

"Xiao Qiang, follow them!"

Being self-reliant was better, and with everyone participating, the grinding speed nearly doubled.

When they encountered a level 50 elite monster, the youngsters could even take it down together.

Now, Xiao Chen was completely at ease.

Talent really determined a lot, and early leveling wasn't that hard; soon, a group of people could grow.

After reaching level 40, Xiao Chen took them to clear a level four hard dungeon, grinding all the way to level 45.

Hard dungeons were challenging, and they almost ran into big trouble a few times early on.

Six people tackling a ten-man dungeon was indeed a challenge.

Of course, the massive number of small monsters caused the squad members' experience to soar, and they even earned an achievement.

After a few runs, the youngsters grew quickly and soon became seasoned veterans.

Once they reached level 45, the youngsters wanted to start tackling level five dungeons.

Level five dungeons were naturally out of reach, so Xiao Chen and the others returned to the Guild Territory.

Upon returning, they didn't just grind small monsters; they could also take on level 50 elite monsters.

Sometimes, they even collaborated with other teams to take down a level 60 elite monster.

With their improved strength, their courage also grew.

They started venturing deep into monster groups, hunting level 50+ small monsters.

Xiao Chen's total attributes had grown to over six thousand, and his level had reached 52, giving him some confidence.

Level 50+ monsters still gave him experience, which was great.

The youngsters had all reached level 48, not much different from level 50.

What left Xiao Chen speechless was that their gear was better than his, and they had learned numerous black iron-level skill books.

They had all learned at least one common skill.

These people had truly grown!

If Xiao Chen didn't have so much accumulated, he wouldn't be able to compare to them.

Li Hailan: "I've cast the Eye of Detection, I can see movements within a six hundred meter range in advance.

If there's danger, we'll retreat immediately."

Lin Qiang: "Pull more small monsters over, I can handle it!"

Wang Hai: "Ask in the guild channel if there are any elite monsters. If not, I think we can even take on a level 50 BOSS."

Wang Min: "I have plenty of mana, I'll cast a Water Shield on these skeletons too."

These youngsters were always so chatty, Xiao Chen often couldn't get a word in, so he just focused on grinding.

When the youngsters all reached level 50, Xiao Chen surprisingly reached level 53, thanks largely to their impressive performance.

By then, it wasn't about who was leading whom; it was more like leveling up together.

After grinding small monsters for several months, Xiao Chen finally saved enough money to replace one of his rings with a silver one.

Having three silver accessories was quite an achievement for Xiao Chen.

In terms of overall strength, Xiao Chen was comparable to a C-level professional.

At this point, he had been Awakened for two and a half years.

Most of his peers were no longer around, especially those at the bottom.

Now, with a better growth environment for the Awakened, the mortality rate would decrease significantly.

Xiao Chen opened his friend list and saw that Wang Zhen and Liu Mei had reached level 58, which was decent progress.

As for Zhang Fan and Sun Jian, they were insanely pushing towards level 70.

Su Ming remained at the top of his friend list, already at level 76.

Xiao Chen originally wanted to update Su Ming on his situation, especially Xiao Qiang's growth.

But considering his recent slow leveling speed, he decided against it.

"Just quietly take root, no need to bother the big shots."